Big Louis
LV opens XXL store on 57th Street
NEW YORK: Tuesday, February 10, 2004
WHAT: Press breakfast and tour of the world’s newest, and largest, Louis Vuitton store
WHERE: Part one: Louis Vuitton 1 East 57th Street store. Part two: The Magic Room on the 23rd floor of the LVMH tower
FOOD: Light fare including bite sized sandwiches, delicate hors d’oeuvres.
DRINKS: Lots of black coffee and orange juice in champagne flutes.
SEEN: A huge international press presence. Attendees divided themselves (subconsciously?) into their respective countries.
French Vogue’s Carine Roitfeld in a silk Prada dress, YSL black fur, and Helmut Lang shoes.
V mag’s Alix Browne looking more Bergdorf’s than Barneys Co-op in a long cream colored coat.
Cecilia Dean, hair pulled back in tight bun, wearing a gorgeous gray military coat…stayed only for the tour and breakfast.
Christian Dior’s Sidney Toledano made an appearance to support the LVMH brand.
The Louis Vuitton gang: Chairman and CEO LV North America Jean Marc Gallot, chairman and CEO LV malletier Yves Carcelle, LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, architects Peter Marino and Jun Aoki.
HEARD:
Bernard Arnault
1. “Our biggest challenge right now is in production.”
2. “Marc Jacobs is the reason LV is what it is today.”
3. “Over 100 customers walk into our current Fifth Ave. store per minute.”
4. “2004 will be a very good year for us.” “2005 is what I am keeping my eye on…will there be a rise in interest rates? What impact will that have on the company’s sales?”
On Marc Jacobs:
“Our relationship with Marc is very good. We’re interested to see how we could build the Marc Jacobs brand. We are working with Marc to put in the right combination now. Hopefully we could make Marc Jacobs as expansive as Donna Karan or Ralph Lauren.”
Peter Marino, who designed the four-story interior of the store
“It’s a very touching story of support for our city.”
SCOOP:
Four more LV stores to open in China by 2005
The clientele on mainland China is LV’s 4th largest clientele group in the world.
About 90% of LV’s American customers are from the U.S.
By September, the LV full jewelry line will be in stores, starting with NYC.
JIM SHI
Photo Jimmy Cohrssen
